The Cratchets at Plimoth Plantation

Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim from the TV cartoon Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol came to mind today while I was visiting Plimoth Plantation. Remember Tiny Tim's wooden crutch? It looked like it was cut from the forked branch of a tree.

I visited the Pilgrim village because I was trying to get an idea of what life must have been like for Sandwich's founding fathers, William Wood in particular. When Wood left Sandwich in 1650, he sold his house and land to James Skiffe. According to the deed, Wood's property included "...one barne and staules for cattle adjoined thereunto together with... upland and meadows, tilled or untilled, fenced or unfenced... and also all the dounge and mannure alreddy made..." Wood was a farmer who, like most farmers of this time, kept animals like sheep, pigs, goats, chickens, and cattle. He also owned eight acres of marshland between his house and what is today Town Neck Beach.

 Cattle near a Gate, Saltholm 

by Theodor Philipson (1840 - 1920)

Having seen English paintings of cattle grazing by the sea, I was curious to know if farmers like Wood allowed their cattle to graze on the marsh.

In the village's fort, I met Bill Rudder, who seemed to know lot about the village's cattle, and he recommended that I search through Plimoth Plantation's website to find the 1627 Plimoth Colony Division of Cattle that names each one of the colonists, adults and children, the cattle they owned, and often the name of the ship that transported each of the cattle. Thus, "The fourth lot fell to John Howland & his company Joyned to him his wife To this lot fell one of the 4 heyfers Came in the Jacob Called Raghorne." (Jacob was the name of the ship and Raghorne the cattle's name.) And "The eleventh lott ffell to the Governor Mr William Bradford and those with him, to wit, his wife To this lott fell An heyfer of the last yeare wch was of the Greate white back cow that was brought over in the Ann..."

"Did cattle actually graze on salt hay?" I asked Bill. 

"Yes," he nodded. "If fact, because the cattle would sink in the marsh mud, farmers would attach wooden shoes to their hooves."

Bill Rudder, Plimoth Plantation's Manager of Historical Built Landscapes

Turns out Bill has been working at Plimoth Plantation for twenty years, and he manages the construction of the historical landscapes there. He happened to be touring the village with a high school student who would soon be taking on the role of eighteen year old Mary Buckett who eventually married Pilgrim George Soule. I was happy to join them as they wandered through the Pilgrim's houses. 

Rose the Red Devon Heifer

"What kind of houses did the earliest settlers build during their first difficult months and years in America?" I asked Bill. But he didn't answer right away. First he showed Mary and me a house that was built with a standard construction method. Then he showed us an example of reverse construction. It wasn't until we found Rose, the village's red Devon heifer, in a fenced-in pasture that Bill showed me what I was looking for by pointing out Rose's rude shelter. 

"That's the kind of building most settlers lived in during their first year," Bill said. "Some constructed wigwams like the natives. Some built lean-tos. But this was built using cratchets that are pounded into the ground."

"Cratchets?" I asked, thinking of Bob and Tiny Tim Cratchit.

"Cratchets," Bill nodded. "Tree trunks with natural forks at the upper end. The Y of the fork is used for support." 

In the photo below, you can clearly see the post on the left corner that's holding up a crossbeam and another cratchet that supports the roof's ridge beam. Do they look like Tiny Tim's crutch? I thought so. I also thought it must have been awfully uncomfortable for William Wood and the other early settlers as they adjusted to their new home.

Rose's Shelter